


Purl

by Enchantable



Series: Stitches [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Knitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh has an interesting hobby, Mako is intrigued</p>
            </blockquote>





	Purl

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Raleigh knits his own sweaters and Mako sees him doing it and is interested. He shows her how to knit and she's really bad at it. Shippy or not, either one is good :)

In his early life Raleigh is a momma’s boy.

He doesn’t think of himself as interesting or tough and he can’t think of why anyone would want to be his friend. He prefers to hide behind the long skirts his mother likes to wear and when she smiles at him he feels like he can take on the world. His most comforting memories are of sitting on her lap as she knits, the needles clicking together in a steady rhythm. 

Now his mother’s gone and he can think of reasons why people would want to be his friend. He’s not painfully shy, just quiet. But the click of the needles is still just as comforting. Yarn is cheap, cheaper than good sweaters anyway and he has a fondness for the cold. in the hours when he sits in his room with his thoughts too loud he knits and lets the click of the needles drown them out. 

Mako isn’t surprised when he pulls out the yarn and needles. She’s been in his head before. But when she sees it with her own eyes she can’t really look away. He has scars and stiffness and damage to his left side in particular, but his hands are deft and graceful as they guide the yarn through the needles, turning it into something she can’t see yet. 

His eyes raise up and meet hers. Mako feels herself blush as she looks at him but when he smiles she can’t help but return it. He knows she gets it and it’s nice that he doesn’t have to explain. She sets down her pen and turns towards him as he shifts seamlessly on the bed, turning to face her as the needles keep working. 

"What are you making?" she asks. 

"Socks," he says. 

"They give us socks," she says with a frown. the needles pause and he holds out the sock. She reaches forward and runs a finger down it, her eyebrows raising at the softness.

"Not like these," he says pulling it back and continuing to knit. 

He looks down to see Mako’s toes curl on the cold floor. He’s surprised she hasn’t figured it out yet since the yarn he’s using is a blue just a shade more electric than her hair and the socks are definitely too small for his feet. Her eyes are locked on the needles and he knows the look in her eyes. It’s the same look she has when she sees something she wants, something she’s going to make hers. His fingers pause on the needles. 

"Hang on," he says setting his needles aside and pulling out the bag he has with yarn and a few sets of needles, "c’mere," he says nodding to his bed. 

She gets up and comes over to the bed, sitting across from him. She tucks her legs up and accepts the needles he gives her. He picks up a ball of bright orange yarn, as warm as Gipsy Danger’s core. She takes it from him and pulls at the end, looking at the needles. She has all the memories of how to knit, but he can see her focusing too hard on them. Trying to make up for having never done it before. 

"Here," he says, "Let me show you how to cast on," he says.

He ties the knot and threads the needle through, holding it out to her. Mako undoes it and tries to replicate the knot. He shows her again and she does it perfectly. He shows her the basic stitch, but she insists on unraveling and starting from the beginning. Her fingers seem to get lost somewhere between casting on and getting past the third stitch. He can see her getting frustrated because this is supposed to be soothing. Theres an adorable wrinkle appearing between her eyes as her fingers tighten on the needles and Raleigh’s pretty sure she’s going to try and stab something with them in a moment. 

"Hey, hey," he says with a smile, his hands reaching out and covering hers, "hang on," he says.

Mako looks up to see the warmth in his eyes. He sets down his own needles and gets up, coming behind her. Her eyes widen as he settles himself behind her. His arms come around her, his hands gently cupping hers. She can feel his breath tickling her neck as he guides her fingers to making the first knot. His hands are much bigger than hers but he easily guides her through making the knot and slipping the needle through it.

"That’s it," he says and she can feel his chest vibrate against her spine as she sits against him. His hands slip from her fingers to her wrist as she dips the needle and pulls the thread through, "good," he says as she slowly creates a row, "see? It’s relaxing," he says when she glances up and they smile. 

Mako nods and shifts slightly to get more comfortable. she feels Raleigh leans forward, fitting himself around her. His head rests on her shoulder, his stubble scraping her cheek. Mako looks down at her row which is small and lumpy but she can feel Raleigh relaxing against her. So she goes against everything she wants to do and picks up the yarn, guiding it into another imperfect row. 

he wears the lumpy orange scarf with pride as she wiggles her toes in her perfectly soft blue socks.


End file.
